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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™?

Licensed by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, practitioners must satisfactorily complete a course of study addressing financial planning subject areas including insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning. In addition, they must pass a comprehensive certification examination and have at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience. To maintain the designation, one must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years. T. Jay Jones has actively maintained his CFP®designation since he attained it in 1998.

What ethical standards do you follow?

Most every firm in the industry purports to put the client's interest first. We do our best to "walk the talk" by embracing a fiduciary standard and implementing processes to serve as a filter for our actions. Two examples of these processes include our “discussion checklist” (see “What are your fees”) and The 4 Way Test.

What are your fees?

Actual costs, which may include advisory fees and commissions, will vary based on the services you choose. Our "discussion checklist” for any conversation regarding services includes:

What benefit you can reasonably expect to receive net of costs

All associated costs

Any associated risks and how they are best managed

Who is United Planners Financial Services?

United Planners Financial Services is a uniquely structured Partnership completely independent from other financial institutions. United Planners provides full brokerage, insurance, and investment advisory services to over 300 prestigious financial professionals located throughout the United States. United Planners is a member of the Securities and Investor Protection Corporation (www.SIPC.org) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). An investment brochure describing FINRA's public disclosure program is available from FINRA by calling 1(800) 289-9999 or online at www.FINRA.org.

United Planners executes and clears brokerage transactions through Pershing, LLC. Pershing is one of the largest financial clearing institutions. Additional information regarding Pershing, LLC can be found at www.Pershing.com.

CLOSE-UP Highlights United Planners

Do you provide on-line access to my accounts?

Our firm works directly with independent third-party custodians including Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab and Pershing to hold our clients assets. All of these firms are members of the SIPC. We provide 24/7 access and visibility to your accounts via our online client portal.

I consider myself to be financially savvy. Do I need a financial advisor?

The majority of millionaires use the assistance of a planner*. These highly successful and disciplined people seek the assistance of professionals because they understand a person cannot be an expert in every discipline. They use professionals to enhance the quality of their decisions and give them freedom to spend more time with their families and do things they enjoy in life. We will help you develop and implement a plan (adjusting it when necessary), manage your investments, and assist your family with a variety of financial matters.

This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the following states: AZ, CA, FL, GA, IL, MI, MN, ND, NY, OR and WI. No offers maybe made or accepted from any resident outside the specific state(s) referenced.

A broker-dealer, investment advisor, BD agent, or IA representative may only transact business in a state if first registered appropriately. Follow-up, individualized responses to persons in a state by such a firm or individual that involve either effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made without first complying with appropriate registration requirements.

This page may contain links to third-party company websites. By selecting a link, you will be leaving our website and launching a new browser window. These links are provided for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as an endorsement, sponsorship, solicitation or other affiliation with respect to any third parties. We are not making any recommendations or providing any advice on securities in particular or investments in general. Neither Ringenberg Financial Group nor United Planners Financial Services have reviewed the content of, and are not responsible for, the information or the results of the third-party websites.